Please, where can I find Press-Ted?

Well, that meeting with Nic went into the wee hours, but we’ve established an excellent schedule to be sure we accomplish plenty as they say here in Ghana. This morning, we were in the centre bright and early ready to get BI Capture software set up and running and hold our business meeting with Auntie Serwah, the Director of AACT.
Nic and Mawusi got started right away with the installation of the BI Capture software, and though we still need to work out some kinks of installation, we expect to have the software up and running by tomorrow so that we can do a few test runs of the upload and comment process before we head back!
Ann and Molly continued observation of the staff and teaching, and Mawusi and Ann began setting up staff training data sheets. It’s so great to see the children and staff again- we are making new friends and reuniting with old ones. In our meeting with Auntie Serwah we got to hear the details of some of the awareness raising that AACT has been doing throughout Ghana. We were reminded of the realities of working within a culture where autism still carries an overwhelming stigma. Although AACT has made tremendous progress in raising awareness of children with autism in Ghana, the cultural beliefs surrounding autism create a large and complex challenge.
One of the difficulties of this stigma is manifested in parents’ hesitance to sign photo releases that would allow their child’s picture to be publicly displayed in any way. This would of course raise visibility and awareness of the condition here in Ghana. Even after signing photo releases, many parents can sometimes have second thoughts when presented with the realities of having their child’s photo used publicly.
Then, we were off to prepare materials for a presentation on PECS-the Picture Exchange Communication System. This system will allow the children to communicate using pictures and give a mode of communication to children who currently have none. These children often rely on inappropriate and even dangerous behaviors to get their needs met. It is these behaviors that cause some children to be ostracized from their communities and sometimes even their families.
After a long search for Velcro (including the discovery that it is called “press-ted” in Ghana) we managed to find time to mail a few postcards. Ann is now about to start writing out the flipcharts for tomorrow’s presentation while Molly prepares the participation certificates and checks Global Autism Project mail from Busy Internet, whilst posting this blog!